Flat roof construction, method of producing a flat roof construction and storm safety element

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a storm protection element of a post which passes through a flat roof covering. In particular, the element is designed as a hold-down disk or plate with an opening surrounded by spring-elastic claws which are designed so as to determine an inner contour of the opening, the inner contour being attached to the outer contour of the post to be secured. The storm protection element can be pushed onto the post from the free end of the post against the elastic resistance of the claws, whereas the claws wedge against the post when a force acts in the opposite direction and thus fix the storm protection element in the position reached by the element upon being pushing onto the post.

TECHNICAL AREA

The invention relates to a flat roof construction and to a stormprotection element of a punctiform crash protection (Secupoint,ABS-Point). It furthermore relates to a method of producing astorm-protected flat roof covering.

PRIOR ART

Flat roofs must meet many requirements regarding tightness, heatinsulation, use/shaping and maintenance. Requirements of sealing andsafety play a special part here. Usually, crash protections are set atintervals on rather large flat roof surfaces into which the ropeattachment points for securing workers performing mounting ormaintenance work on the flat roof are introduced. It should be ensuredthat such protections that penetrate the roof skin and insulating layersunder it do not offer a starting point for penetrating moisture. To thisend special enclosures are customarily used that extend up to a certainheight on the particular crash protection and are welded to the surfaceseal. Since there is basically the danger that such sealing elements canbecome loose due to wind suction, they are to be additionally securedmechanically, for which the concept of storm protection has becomecustomary in the case of roof surfaces freely exposed to the weather.

FIG. 1 shows in the manner of a perspective top view a section of a flatroof 1 that is surrounded by a fascia 3 and on which several ventilatingpipes 5 are arranged for illustrating different known measures for stormprotection. In addition to fastening rails 7, that are used inparticular for storm protection of the edges or roof penetrations (asshown in section A) but also for storm protection in the area of aventilation pipe 5, even individual point fasteners (long screws 11penetrating the covering and the insulating layer) are used for thestorm protection of the cited sealing elements 9 on the ventilation pipe5. This method for producing a storm protection is reliable butlabor-intensive and cost-intensive and creates undesired, additionalpenetrations of the roof construction.

The invention therefore has the basic problem of indicating an improvedflat roof construction, an improved storm protection element and animproved method for producing a storm-protected flat room covering.

PRESENTATION OF THE INVENTION

This problem is solved by a flat roof construction according to Claim 1,a storm prevention element according to Claim 3 and a method forproducing a flat roof construction according to Claim 10. Advantageousfurther developments of the concept of the invention are subject matterof the particular dependent claims.

The invention comprises the consideration in the case of posts that formcrash protection and penetrate in the area of a flat roof constructionfor protecting sealing elements against storm and wind suction based onthe principle of multiply fixing these sealing elements in the edge andcorner areas of the sealing and instead to provide a single stormprotection element. It furthermore comprises the concept of associatingthis individual storm protection element spatially directly with thecorresponding post and/or the sealing element surrounding it but toconstruct it in such a manner that the required holding effect on theflat section of the sealing element on the roof skin is ensured. Thispresupposes a lateral minimum extension of the storm protection element.

As a consequence of these considerations a storm protection element ismade available that has a disk shape or plate-like shape and an openingthrough which the corresponding post extends. The circumferential edgeof this opening is shaped in such a manner that the storm protectionelement is automatically held fast on the post at a height into which itwas brought during the assembly so that a shifting up on the post withthe undesired side effect of canceling the fixing effect of the sealingelement is prevented.

The above-cited problem is solved by a flat roof construction with aflat roof covering and at least one post extending through thiscovering, wherein a storm prevention element is attached to the post andis constructed as a hold-down disk or hold-down plate that is surroundedby spring-elastic claws in such a manner that these claws determine aninside contour of the opening that is adapted to the outside contour ofthe post to be secured, and that the storm prevention element can bepushed from the free end of the post against the elastic resistance ofthe claws onto the post, whereas the claws wedge against the post when aforce acts in the opposite direction and thus fix the storm protectionelement in the position reached by this element upon being pushed ontothe post. With such a flat roof construction workers or objects to besecured can be secured in a reliable manner and the constructive effortand the costs are low. Furthermore, undesired (additional) penetrationsof the construction can be avoided in a simple manner.

In an embodiment of the flat roof construction the storm preventionelement attached to the post is covered by a water-tight covering. Theshape of the covering can correspond in a top view in particular to theshape of the storm prevention element. The dimensions of the coveringcan be (somewhat) greater than the dimensions of the storm preventionelement. The covering can be adhered or welded outside of thecircumferential edge of the storm prevention element to the surface ofthe flat roof covering.

The above-cited problem is furthermore solved by a storm preventionelement, in particular the flat roof construction of the above-describedtype constructed as a hold-down disk or hold-down plate with an opening.The opening is surrounded by spring-elastic claws constructed in such amanner that they determine an inner contour of the opening that isadapted to the outer contour of the post to be protected. The stormprevention element is constructed in such a manner that it can be pushedfrom the free end of the post against the elastic resistance of theclaws onto the post, whereas the claws wedge against the post when aforce acts in the opposite direction and thus fix the storm protectionelement in the position reached by that element upon being pushed on.Regarding the advantages, reference is made to the comments about theflat roof construction explained above.

In one embodiment the storm protection element is constructed as acircular plastic disk with a central opening. Other embodiments areelliptical or substantially with a quadratic or rectangular plate shape,optionally with rounded edges. Even embodiments with projecting supportfeet in stellate form or the like are possible.

The claws holding the storm protection element fast on the post areconstructed in another embodiment as projections of a metallic fixingring that is permanently added into the opening. In other embodimentsindividual claws are introduced into the disk or the plate or the latterare provided in their assembly opening with claws formed in one piece orwith resilient projections with a corresponding action.

Another embodiment provides that the claws enclose an acute angle withthe holding plane of the storm protection element at least in sections,in particular in a section at or in the vicinity of their free ends.Here the claws are directed upward relative to the plane of the roofcovering so that they bend even somewhat further upward when beingpushed onto the corresponding post from its free upper end by thecontact with the outer surface of the post and as a result can be pushedonto the post. The free diameter of the opening of the storm protectionelement that is determined by the ends of the claws in their relaxedstate is preferably somewhat smaller than the outer cross section of thepost so that in the assembled state of the storm protection element theclaws are pretensioned against the post surface and are consequentlypressed on it with a certain holding force. This prevents a “flapping”and a slow loosening of the elements. In particular, the angle betweenthe claws and the holding plane is between 5° and 45°, especiallybetween 10° and 30°.

In another embodiment the thickness of the holding-down disk or of theholding-down plate constantly rises from the edge toward the opening,whose shape is therefore a flat truncated cone or a section of a cone.In an alternative embodiment the disk or plate has a thickened areaextending around the opening and is gradually offset in the direction ofthe edge. Embodiments are also possible with individual, substantiallyradially running reinforcement ribs or also a spirally runningreinforcement rib, and the hold-down disk or hold-down plate canbasically have a constant thickness over the entire extent.

The above-cited problem is independently solved by a method forproducing a flat roof construction of the type described above, whereina storm protection element of the above-described type is pushed onto atleast one part of the posts penetrating the flat roof covering, inparticular onto each post. At least one section of each post, whichsection is in the vicinity of the covering, and of the surroundings ofthe post can be provided with a watertight covering while covering thestorm protection element. The covering can be adhered or welded outsideof the circumferential edge of the storm prevention element to thesurface of the flat roof covering.

SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiments are explained in detail in the following using thedrawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a flat roof construction with roofpenetrations (ventilating pipes) and different storm protectionelements,

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the storm protectionelement according to the invention,

FIG. 3 shows a perspective sectional view of an embodiment of the stormprotection element according to the invention,

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the storm protectionelement according to the invention in its position of use on a crashprotection of a flat roof.

FIG. 2 to 4 show a storm protection element 13 constructed as ahold-down disk that is circular in a top view and a perspective view ora perspective sectional view. The storm protection element 13 consistssubstantially of plastic, for example, a polyamide or a similar materialand has a central, circular opening 13 a into which a metallic ring 13 bwith claw-like projections 13 c is inserted. The projections (claws) 13c are dimensioned in such a manner that the free inside diameter of theopening 13 a determined by its free ends is somewhat smaller than theoutside diameter of a post to be secured. Therefore, the stormprotection element can be pushed on the one hand with relatively littleexpenditure of force without damaging a sealing element jacketing thepost or some other jacketing layer but on the other hand is firmly heldautomatically on the post by the elastic contact pressure of the claws13 c against the outside surface of the post in the given position. Thematerial and the wall thickness of the metallic ring 13 b (preferablyconsisting of spring steel) are selected in such a manner that thisfunction is reliably met under normal conditions of assembly and use.

The outer plastic disk 13 d has a graduated shape with an outer ringarea 13 d 1 with a constant thickness and a middle area 13 d 2 shapelike a truncated cone with a thickness increasing toward the opening 13a. However, this is only an exemplary embodiment and the disk can alsobe designed on the whole to be shaped like a flat truncated cone fromthe outer edge to the opening (that is, with a thickness that constantlyincreases starting from the edge).

The outside diameter is, for example 80 to 100 mm but can also begreater or smaller as a function of the concrete purpose, and thediameter of the opening 13 a and its free cross section set by the freeends of the claws in the relaxed state depend on the outside diameter ofthe post to be protected. For the commercially availableSarnabar/Sarnafast-System with the SecuPoint rope attachment posts alsoknown to the person skilled in the art the diameter of the opening 13 ais approximately 16-20 mm. If the cross-sectional shape of a post to beprotected or of another penetration of a flat roof should differ fromthe circular shape, the contour of the opening of the storm protectionelement and, if necessary, also its outside contour, will also deviatefrom the circular shape shown in FIG. 2 to 4.

The performance of the invention is not limited to the examples shownand to the emphasized aspects but rather a plurality of modificationsare possible that are within the scope of professional action.

1. A flat roof construction with a flat roof covering and at least onepost extending through this covering, wherein a storm prevention elementis attached to the post is constructed as a hold-down disk or hold-downplate with an opening that is surrounded by spring-elastic claws in sucha manner that these claws determine an inside contour of the openingthat is adapted to the outside contour of the post to be secured, andthat the storm prevention element can be pushed from the free end of thepost against the elastic resistance of the claws onto the post, whereasthe claws wedge against the post when a force acts in the oppositedirection and thus fix the storm protection element in the positionreached by this element upon being pushed onto the post.
 2. The flatroof construction according to claim 1, wherein the storm protectionelement attached to the post is covered by a watertight covering whoseshape corresponds in a top view in particular to the shape of the stormprotection element and whose dimensions are slightly greater than thoseof the storm protection element, wherein the covering is adhered orwelded outside of the circumferential edge of the storm protectionelement to the surface of the flat roof covering.
 3. A storm protectionelement of a flat roof construction according to claim 1, constructed asa hold-down disk or hold-down plate with an opening that is surroundedby spring-elastic claws in such a manner that these claws determine aninside contour of the opening that is adapted to the outside contour ofthe post to be secured, and that the storm prevention element can bepushed from the free end of the post against the elastic resistance ofthe claws onto the post, whereas the claws wedge against the post when aforce acts in the opposite direction and thus fix the storm protectionelement in the position reached by this element upon being pushed ontothe post.
 4. The storm protection element according to claim 3,constructed as a circular plastic disk with a central opening.
 5. Thestorm protection element according to claim 3, wherein the claws aredesigned as projections of a metallic fixing ring that is permanentlyset into the opening.
 6. The storm protection element according to claim3, wherein the claws enclose an acute angle with the holding plane ofthe storm protection element at least in sections, in particular in asection at or in the vicinity of their free ends.
 7. The stormprotection element according to claim 6, wherein the angle between theclaws and the holding plane is between 5° and 45°, especially between10° and 30°.
 8. The storm protection element according to claim 3,wherein the thickness constantly increases from the edge to the opening.9. The storm protection element according to claim 3, with a thickenedarea that is offset in a graduated manner toward the edge and extendsaround the opening.
 10. A method for producing a flat roof constructioncomprising: a storm protection element according to claim 3 is pushedand pressed onto at least one part of the posts penetrating the flatroof covering, in particular onto each post, and onto the surface of theflat roof covering.
 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein atleast one section of each post, which section is in the vicinity of thecovering, and of the surroundings of the post are provided with awatertight covering while covering the storm protection element.
 12. Themethod according to claim 10, wherein the covering is adhered or weldedoutside of the circumferential edge of the storm prevention element tothe surface of the flat roof covering.